Saturday, May 31, 2008

Bella went swimming for the first time today!!! Man, I had soooo much fun!!! She did too, I think!

I had been looking for parent/child classes, and signed up for some in July at the YMCA. But, that is not soon enough for me! I found "Oh Baby! Fitness" classes (have you preggo's and mama's heard of this?? Check it out!!) They have yoga, abs, swim, cycle and stoller work outs for preggo's and for mom and baby. Anyhow, I did a drop in class today and it rocked!!!!!!! And we are both worn out.

I have a video too, but I need to edit it down a bit.

She loved all the mirrors in the locker room!

How cute is she??

Bella splashed and slapped the water so much, she was starting to fall asleep in the float towards the end.

Oh, but I could have TOTALLY done without the naked lady in the locker room as soon as I walked in. I think I said a curse word under my breath because it shocked me so bad. I just didn't expect it. I needed a little build up to that. For example, there was an older lady walking around in her underwear. If I had seen her first, THEN seen the butt naked lady, I still would have been shocked, but I would have seen it coming.Hey, noodie, it is a huge dressing room. Do you mind not standing around in your birthday suit right by the entrance? Thanks.

What's better is that we were sitting at a busy intersection, and the green arrow came on. He was in front of me, and we were NOT in the turn lane. But he wasn't paying attention and went straight, like he had the green light. He almost got hit by the oncoming traffic turning their left. It was pretty ironic.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Here's Bella swinging in a swing way to big for her. So, I should say, she's sitting in the swing (about a month ago - I'm really late on this one)This is her friend, Elliott, who is about 2 months younger but fills that swing out much better!I love meeting other moms in the park!

Thursday, May 29, 2008

... we miss you, Dad! Hope you are having fun in the studio! Bella wore this today in honor of you...Bella and Bandit lovin' on each other:Showing her teeth off:Thanks for the CUTE shirt, Morgan!And here is Bella visiting Dad at work a couple of weeks ago!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

We went to the park last week and took some cool photos of the Masterson's - Kristy is due any day now with little Josie! Chris did a great job! He has captured a lot of memories with our new camera. We love pictures.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

We're at St. Joseph's hospital visiting my grandmother, who is battling a post-op infection. Bella is holding her bottle really well now. In this pic, she's cramming the bottle down her throat. Good times sitting here with my parents.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Chris was in Nashville this week.Bella likes to bite a little with her 2 teeth.Chris took maternity pics of the Masterson's.Bella wants to crawl. She's squirmy.I forget to charge my phone a lot. It dies a lot.Bella likes her portable high chair.I want a new dining room table. Any suggestions where to shop?I'd like a tan. Like now.Applied for a new dog tv show.I miss Chris when he's gone for 3 days in a row.Chris and Katie have sinus infections.I eat Chick-fil-a too much. Bella is talking to her toys a lot these days.A bum gave me ONE window blind for mother's day.I'm (mentally, not physically) ready for the beach.Astro is like a new man with his teeth fixed.I am very sad The Office season is over.We are going to the zoo for Memorial Day.I love Bella more than I could have ever imagined.My husband makes me laugh.

And a quote that a co-worker shared with me that has stuck with me all day: "When you say yes to a lot of things/people, and there are only so many hours in the day to get things done, you are also in the end saying no to things/people that matter." Make sense?

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

I was folding clothes out of the crib; Bella was chillin' with me. She started talking to herself in the mirror and flapping her arms. I ran to get the camera. As soon as she saw it, she lost all interest in the mirror. It cracks me up, because I had the camera on the rail of the crib, so she is totally making these faces at the camera, not as me behind the camera.

My mama's birthday was Saturday. With all the business of the weekend and her get together, I haven't been able to sit down to write a nice post about her.

This was her big 5-0! And it fell the day before mother's day this year. Some years it falls on the same day. She probably feels jipped by that in a way. But I think it is fitting. This mother's day, I had a whole new prespective on the celebration of her. Wow. That's all I can say for raising 4 of us. Bella is such a joy, but it's hard work. And to know she did it with such grace for me, Ryan, Keegan and Chelsie is amazing. Now I have a glimpse of how much she loves us.

Here is a shot of 4 generations! Aren't my Grandmother and Mother so beautiful?

The 11th (Mother's Day) was my aunt Kristy's (mom's sister!) birthday! This is at my cousins wedding a few days before Bella was born:

The two of them talked me into painting Bella's room during my 37th week of pregnancy. I am so glad they did! And to top it off, they did all the work!!

I love you mom, and I hope your birthday and first Mother's Day weekend as a Grandmother was wonderful!

Thanks for all you did for me growing up - giving birth, feedings late at night, wiping my nose, holding me tight, teaching me to laugh, being the team mom/classroom mom and PTA President for us all, for bringing me things to school that I left ALL the time, letting me get a perm when I didn't need one in 7th grade, checking me out when I didn't feel good or didn't have something that was due!, letting me do fun paint jobs to my room, going to the end of the world to find the "perfect" prom or homecoming dress every year, paying for gymnastic lessons (and taking me to them) for years for a backhandspring I used once a year, for the Local Motion Honda, helping me thru college, planning a beautiful wedding, for loving Chris, and loving Dad.

Jeff Henderson, Buckhead's campus director, brought in an author today to speak to the staff.

His name: Joe(y) Reiman. His book: Thinking For A Living. His agenda: dream big.

It was one of the most enthusiastic, authentic representations of passion I've ever seen. Captivating. I couldn't divert my eyes from him. Maybe because he spoke through his eyes, not his mouth. He was overflowing with life. We all were changed today.

Here are a few key quotes from his talk:

"Be a Famili-onnaire...rich in family."

"Don't 'should' on yourself." Live without regret.

"The omission of nurturing is abuse."

"Marry someone who is never an enemy of your excitement."

"Throw your heart over the fence and your body will follow."

Buy his book. Heck, if you need another reason: he had the most awesome shoes I've ever seen:

Thursday, May 8, 2008

I get emails from weightwatchers.com for recipes. I don't ever open them because I tend to cook the same things over and over. In theory, I would love to learn a bunch of new recipes and how to cook some great dishes. But I don't have TIME.

Anyway, the subject of this particular email caught my eye, "Great Gift Ideas for Mom", so I opened it.

Who gets their mom Weight Watchers stuff for Mother's Day? I think I would slap the person!

Bella came down with a cold Thursday night. So we haven't slept well since. Poor thing just wasn't breathing well with a stuffy nose, so I can't blame her. It's funny how you are so sleep deprived during the day, but I honestly love taking care of her in the night. Maybe it's because she needs me, but she's so sweet and pitiful at the same time.

Chris has been working a conference for a week today. It's finally over which is awesome. We both have taken over that fun cold, he's been working LONG hours for the conference a little under the weather, and I've been at home while the two of us girls get better... We're pretty much all exhausted.

I went to Kristys today to see her nursery set up, and Bella fell asleep on me just standing there. How sweet is this:

Chris was able to come home a little early tonight from rehersal (8pm?). Well, I noticed earlier in the day that little Astro's mouth / face was swollen. I made an appointment for first thing Friday morning, but it had gotten worse. So the night vet said we needed to bring him in. Chris is a great dad and took him in. He has horrible teeth (Astro that is. Chihuahua's are know for crowded teeth because their mouths are so little). We think it's his tooth. He's about 14 now, so I hope he can handle what ever they are doing to him right now.

When they left the house, I hugged him a little tighter and sent Chris with a piece of cheese for him. Astro LOVES cheese. Chris called to say he tore Astro off a piece, and somehow he's gotten it in his tail. So he is doing circles in the front seat trying to get the cheese. And if any of yall know the breathing noise he makes, you know what it sounds like right now in the car.

It was a strange drive down 400 today. First, I see this car, whose license plate says, "NO HAND." I thought that meant that he drove "with no hands on the steering wheel," you know... wrecklessly. Afterall, he was driving an Audi TT sportscar.

When I drove past him, I quickly realized that he was wasn't kidding. He was holding his iPhone with a nub...he didn't have hands. That's wrong.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Bella and mom chillin in the sun last week. Bella is working to figure out the sippy cup a little. And mom's reflection off her legs might blind you, watch out. I LOVE summer. I like the hot weather. I love the beach!!! Anyone want to move there with me to sell hotdogs or snow cones?

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Bella has a gnarly cold, and today she received excellent care from
daddy daycare. The snot and fussing didn't stand in the way of the two
of us salvaging a good day together. This pic, just after lunch: